25 Aug 2011

A while back I came across a skin care line called Coral Actives. I was asked to try their products and share my honest (of course) opinion on the site. The products that I reviewed were the Retinol Cleanser and the Acne Serum. You can find the full article and review here.

Ever since I started using Coral Actives I can’t stop raving about it! I’ve written about the products several times on the site, recommended them to friends and hosted a giveaway in the hopes that someone else could try and love the products too!

I, of course, have tried other skin care products against acne, but these are by far the best ones I’ve found! Even though I own and tried other anti-acne products, I always come back to Coral Actives. Especially when I’m stressed or when it’s ‘that time of the month’, because unfortunately that’s when my skin starts to act up…

I went on Coral Actives’ Facebook page a couple of months ago and asked why they hadn’t come out with a moisturizer yet. To me, that was the only missing to complete the product line. And surprise surprise… it was in the making. 🙂

Coral Actives Moisturizer for Acne-Prone Skin came out in the beginning of Summer. I couldn’t wait to try! I’ve been using it faithfully in the morning for two months now and thought I would share my thoughts with you guys. I know some of you have acne prone skin like me, so this might be helpful.

I asked Nadine, one of the winners of my Coral Actives giveaway to share her thoughts too, since I knew she was using the moisturizer as well. She did and below are our thoughts! I thought it would be interesting to see both our point of views. We didn’t read each other pieces before publishing. 🙂

What is it?
Coral Actives Moisturizer for Acne-Prone Skin was developed for people who want to use a daily moisturizer and want to continue treating their acne. The natural ingredients found in the moisturizer will work to fight the bacteria that cause acne and keep your skin healthy.

What are its ingredients?
The formulation is paraben free and contains the following natural ingredients:

Licorice ExtractBlocks androgen activity of the sebaceous glandâ€™s production of sebum; also inhibits lipase enzyme activity produced by bacteria on the skinâ€™s surface and in pores thereby decreasing inflammation.

Glucosamine HCL â€“ Algae Extract â€“ Yeast Extract â€“ UreaNatural exfoliators. They can activate both epidermal and dermal cells, resulting in improved cell renewal. They also increase production of hyaluronic acid and collagen.

What are my thoughts?
When I first saw the product, I thought I wasn’t going to like it at all. As you can see on the pictures, it’s thick and it looks ‘oily’. The fact that it’s yellow (butter like), didn’t help either…
After I applied it for the first time, I was pleasantly surprised! My skin absorbs it very quickly and the moisturizer doesn’t leave a greasy residue at all. It does have a very strong tea tree scent. If you don’t like that scent, this might not be for you.

Overall I like how it feels on my skin. I haven’t had a bad reaction to it and it works well under my makeup primer.

Oh, there is one thing though: I wish it was mattifying. Most people who have acne or occasional breakouts, have oily skin as well. I wish this product would tackle that aspect to. But I guess you ‘can’t have it all’… As far as moisturizing goes: it does its job!

What are Nadine’s thoughts?
For about a year, I have been using Neutrogena Oil Free Moisturizer for sensitive skin. After winning a giveaway on this website for Coral Actives cleanser & acne serum, I was hooked. Of course when Kizzy told me they had come out with their own moisturizer for acne-prone skin, I just had to try it.
I wanted to love it, I really did. The first thing I didn’t love was the packaging – too much comes out of the tube when I squeeze it. I definitely prefer the pump bottle that other moisturizers have. Aesthetically, the lotion itself is a beige kind of color, which is less pleasing than the typical white lotions.
As for the product and how it preforms? Average. I honestly wasn’t blown away by it. It didn’t absorb as well into my skin and felt a little thick for my liking. It was also hard to say if it made any impact upon my skin care regimen in regards to preventing acne because as soon as I’d started using this, my face went through a breakout phase for two weeks. I can’t blame the moisturizer all together, because we all know so many things are factors in your skin’s health, especially as a woman.
My bottom line: this is an OK product, I’ll use up the rest that I have but I’ll probably not buy it again. I still love and depend upon the Coral Actives Retinol Cleanser & Acne serum though! 🙂

Where can you buy it?
You can find Coral Actives in their online store, located at CoralActives.com The Moisturizer for Acne-Prone Skin retails for $13 (for 2 fl.oz / 60 ml).

PS. Did you like the ‘double review’? I didn’t read Nadine’s review until I put this up, so it was interesting to see how much her opinion differed from mine. By the way, you can check out Nadine’s blog here. She’s incredibly funny, so be prepared for some laughs! 🙂

Kizzy

Kizzy, blogger behind Kizzy Online, originally created this blog to use as her personal life journal. When she moved from the Netherlands to the United States in 2010, she started focusing more on beauty, fashion and lifestyle. She also writes about her life as a wife and a mom of 2 in San Diego, California.